Premiere of the revised version of Sawti'l Zaman by Benjamin Attahir

Sawti’l Zaman (The Voices of the Past in Arabic) is inspired by a piece by Marin Marais (Badinage, extract from 4^ème Livre pour viole seule [Jestering, 4^th Book for Solo Viol]), discovered by Benjamin Attahir when he was a teenager in the film Tous les matins du monde [All the Mornings in the World]. The composer’s piece from the court of Louis XIV is here used in all sorts of configurations (use of high notes, extrapolations, colouring techniques…), with the original material remaining recognisable throughout. Another element of Attahir’s inspiration is oriental music, here clearly perceptible in the cor anglais and violin solos, which are extremely elaborate. The young composer, who received advice from Pierre Boulez at the prestigious Lucerne Festival Academy, makes the self-portrait of a 23-year-old musician reality in Sawt’il Zaman, in turn flourishing and unpredictable, through a very detailed orchestration that evokes the great teachers Dutilleux, Lutosławski and Stravinksy. The ending is a real finale, with the orchestra playing in opposing units, until a great climax in which Marin Marais’s notes can be heard at every octave, with a great surge of energy.

Laurent Vilarem

Concert dates

11,12 Jan. 2018, Orchestre national de Lille

Keith Lockhart, cond.

23 Feb. 2018, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse

Andris Poga, cond.